Leslie has been on and off Newstart since March 2009.
She explains what it's like to survive on the unemployment benefit.
"You can't live. You have no social life. It's $30 to have a phone for a month, a mobile. I'm paying $230 rent. You can't afford anything. You can't even afford shoes. You can't even afford medical treatment if it's not Medicare funded,” Leslie said.
The 54-year-old is among more than 800,000 Australians living on around $40 a day - the result of the allowance not being increased in real terms for 25 years.
Australian Council of Social Service Senior Advisor, Charmaine Crowe says the payment needs to be raised immediately by $75 a week to keep up with rising living costs.
The renewed pressure to increase the allowance comes following the government's cuts to deeming rates, which will boost the incomes of around a million pensioners.
But Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the government won't increase the payment.
"Two thirds of the people who are on Newstart, move into employment within 12 months and our focus for the people on Newstart is helping them create an environment where they get a job because that's the best thing you can do for someone who's on Newstart helping them into the workforce," MrFrydenberg said.
And while Labor's treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers says his party supports increasing the payment, he won't put a dollar figure on it.
“Unfortunately Labor does not determine the level of Newstart at the beginning of this third term of a Liberal government. It's for the government to respond to the concerns which have been legitimately raised, it's for the government to justify why that think Newstart is adequate as it stands," Mr Chalmers said.
